Principal Perspectives

learn more about how being a part of School as Hub programming has impacted the principals and their schools.

The Principals

The interview sample represents half of the principals who lead School as Hub schools and 67% of the school districts. Of the five principals who consented to be interviewed, two have been a part of the Superintendents’ Plan for three years, starting in the fall of 2019. Most of their experience with the plan occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in March 2020. The remaining three participants have been a part of the plan since its inception seven years ago.

General Reflections on the Superintendents’ Plan

The principals described the Superintendents’ Plan as a multi-layered set of interventions and supports to build a School as Hub program that creates partnerships with families from birth to Grade 3. The Superintendents’ Plan includes the following programmatic elements: home visitation services for families with children up to age 3, family facilitation services for families when their children turn age 3, and an educational facilitator who works directly with educators in PreK through third grade to strengthen instructional practices and provide professional development. In addition, principals have multiple opportunities for professional development and collaboration. These include monthly in-person meetings with the participating principals and Institute staff and quarterly one-on-one coaching sessions with the Institute’s leadership program administrator.

The Value of Networking

Principals described the value of building relationships with school leaders across the metro area. They appreciated hearing various perspectives and learning how other schools engage parents. One principal shared that they borrowed an idea from another school to improve parent-teacher conferences that are held prior to the start of the school year. Families now bring an “artifact” that tells something about them to share with their child’s educator. This has been an effective way for educators to learn more about their families and build more meaningful relationships.

One-on-One Support

Working one-on-one with the leadership program administrator has been a vital source of support. Principals have appreciated the rich conversations, the opportunity to problem solve, and the insightful questions that have helped them stay focused on the big picture. They expressed deep respect for the expertise that Institute staff bring to this work.

Impact of New Staff at the School Level

The Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan added two new staff to each school— the home visitor and the family facilitator—with additional support provided by the educational facilitators housed at the Institute. Several principals noted how important these additional staff have been to their School as Hub efforts. The home visitor in particular has been essential to expand the school’s outreach in the community. One principal noted, “I love the home visitor program. I wish all of our schools had that in our district. I know we’ve extended it to our Title 1 buildings … which I think is really important for giving families resources and getting them engaged.”

While one principal touted that, until this year, they had the same staff in these positions from the plan’s inception, others have not been so fortunate. Staff turnover as well as the elimination of some Superintendents’ Plan positions at certain schools have been a challenge. Principals noted that some hires were more effective than others and that losing an excellent team member had a big impact on program quality. In addition, for Institute staff to have the most impact, they need to have strong, trusting relationships with educators and administrators. This was most evident for educational facilitators because they worked closely with educators to help them reflect on and improve their instructional practices. Turnover in this position meant a new hire had to start the relationship-building process all over again, which took time. Moreover, some educational facilitator positions, at various times, have remained vacant for many months. This has caused considerable disruption to that aspect of the Superintendents’ Plan.

The Evolution of the School as Hub Programming

All three principals who have been a part of the School as Hub programming since its inception seven years ago mentioned that in the early years, the intervention and expectations were fairly uniform across all schools. They felt the intervention was prescriptive and top-down. As one principal described it, “I think at the beginning, it felt like there wasn’t much wiggle room and that every school had to do the same thing.” Over time, the key focus on School as Hub and parent engagement has remained consistent, but principals have gained greater autonomy in making decisions about how to implement the program. Principals have welcomed this change. One principal noted that each school and district has unique needs. They expressed gratitude that the Superintendents’ Plan has increased its focus “on building a community of practice, around how we each use the resources given to us through the Superintendents’ Plan.” The leadership program administrator has supported principals to identify ways they can leverage strengths and identify where they need more help. Principals have found this process to be a more powerful experience in impacting school change.

“We started out thinking that ‘one size fits all.’ And that changed as we went along, to realize that each individual site, even if we were in the same district, had some commonalities but also had some individual needs.” —a principal

Despite the ways School as Hub programming has become more responsive to individual school contexts, one principal who is newer to the program noted that they still find that “some of it just doesn’t fit.” The principal explained that their district already provides extensive professional learning and that their school has a “learning plan” that fits within the goals of the district. This principal finds with the time constraints they face and the needs of their staff to use their planning time to collaborate with each other, it is not always feasible to implement the recommendations and opportunities the School as Hub programming promotes.

Creating a “School as Hub”

Every principal emphasized how much they value creating a true partnership with parents. Several described how their approach has changed because of their participation in the program. Before, they may not have recognized the many strengths families bring to the school community. In addition, they may not have been aware of which families were not engaged or how their parent activities may have excluded some parents because of the schedule, language barriers, or failure to plan for families who might need child care to attend. Principals noted the following ways they now operate differently: • Increase their visibility at school in greeting families and at events in the community • Make their schools more welcoming by inviting parents to come into classrooms • Encourage educators to regularly tell parents something positive about each student • Engage parents in the decision-making process rather than simply tell them about changes after the fact • Offer unique opportunities for parents who are traditionally under-represented to participate in school activities and to partner on school issues • Ensure that school events include activities for babies, toddlers, and teens so the whole family can attend • Provide Kindergarten families a 15-minute “getting to know you” conference with their educator before school begins (these pre-school conferences were so successful that they expanded them to all grades) • Install diaper changing tables in the school bathrooms to accommodate families with young children

Another facet of the School as Hub programming for birth through Grade 3 is to connect families to the school before their children are school-aged in order to build trusting relationships and meaningful partnerships early on. The most visible evidence of this effort was building home visiting and family facilitation programs at each school. Principals noted that the success of this depended on the effectiveness of the home visitor and the buy-in of the school staff. One principal explained that having their entire staff go through training on early childhood development from birth through age 3 increased their support for home visitation, and more educators referred families to the program. Another principal shared that their educators have become active recruiters for home visiting. At pre-school conferences, educators note who has a toddler in tow or who is pregnant and then pass along their contact information to the home visitor.

“We’ve really invested a lot of time developing a committee of parents to help us really reflect on what it means to be engaged. Do they feel that they belong to our community? We’ve asked some hard questions of ourselves and asked for some really good feedback from them. We’re thinking about how we make our school meet the needs of our families, as opposed to asking our families to change and try to adapt to what we’re offering. We’ve been much more intentional about that and seen some really good gains, both from parents, but also from our staff just in their ability to connect and collaborate and partner with families more effectively.”

—a principal

Overall, principals spoke highly about home visitation. They were glad to have young families more connected to their school and appreciate the positive impacts a home visitor can have on their school’s culture. One school now has two home visitors and has seen the program spread to all the elementary schools in the district.

“I didn’t know much about home visiting before I got involved in this plan and now I’m a huge proponent of it. I don’t want it to go away because I think it’s priceless.”

—a principal

The Superintendents’ Plan and Leadership Development

Principals were asked to reflect on how participating in the School as Hub programming has helped develop them as a leader. During the interviews, while participants did not directly point to specific ways they have changed as a leader, they all noted positive experiences that have shaped how they have implemented the School as Hub model.

Professional Development

Principals have appreciated the formal professional development that has been offered within their schools and across the metro area. They also have embraced the opportunities to go to national conferences they might not otherwise be able to attend. One noted that they were a conference presenter where they shared how they have implemented School as Hub practices at their school.

Superintendents’ Plan Program Administrator Support

Principals mentioned that their regular conversations with the leadership program administrator helped them grow in ways that were important to them. The support and insights gleaned from these conversations helped one principal stay focused on family engagement. Another appreciated that the administrator supported their interest in focusing on equity issues at his school. A third principal shared that they had been encouraged to focus more on students’ social-emotional learning and how their school could be more culturally proficient. They welcomed this feedback as it has helped them appreciate families’ funds of knowledge and value the strengths families bring to the school community.

Collaborating With Other Principals

Regular meetings with other principals also contributed to leadership development. Principals have learned from each other and have helped each other stay focused on the big picture. Nearly every interviewee shared how much they appreciate the time they spend with their peers.

One principal noted:

“It’s about creating the space to have those important conversations with other colleagues around the metro who are also engaged in similar type[s] of work at their building. I would say that is the biggest thing for me as a leader is just making sure that I create the space to have the conversation about family engagement, for example.”

Focusing on Birth Through Grade 3

Several principals emphasized that their approach to their work has shifted. They have an expanded view of their responsibilities and are no longer just focused on the current students enrolled in their school. As one explained, “I now think of myself as a birth through sixth grade principal, as opposed to a PreK through sixth principal.” They went on to say that every decision they make includes a reflection on the families and their youngest children: “How can we get infants involved? How can we get prenatal moms involved?…It’s changed my way of thinking.”

The Superintendents’ Plan During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Institute staff adjusted the programming to meet the schools’ evolving needs. They reduced the number of meetings and switched to online meeting formats. They collaborated closely with principals to see how they could customize their support. Principals noted that it was helpful to have Institute staff continue to meet regularly with them to assist with problem-solving.

As schools faced staff absences due to illness, Institute and school staff, including family facilitators and educational facilitators, stepped in to provide support in classrooms. One principal shared that they had three PreKindergarten classrooms that needed paraprofessionals to meet required student-teacher ratios. With vacancies and illnesses, these classrooms were often out of ratio. They were glad to have two extra staff to “share the load.” Often, they would cover classrooms in the morning and have the family or educational facilitator cover in the afternoons. They noted, “That’s not the intended focus of their work. However, since we’re all a team, we just kind of work together.”

Having the educational and family facilitators step in was a tremendous help but also disheartening. Several principals shared that it was disappointing to have to set aside their plans to further their School as Hub efforts. With school leaders and Institute staff serving as substitutes and paraprofessionals, they could no longer work on long-range planning, improving educator practices, or increasing family outreach. One principal explained, “Our community of practice kind of shifted from those gap-closing practices …to how can we support you right now?”

An additional challenge was that the Institute staff continued to work remotely after schools reopened for in-person instruction. Principals felt their absence and noted that this situation was not ideal.

Looking Ahead

Principals expressed hope that the School as Hub programming will get back on track, post-pandemic, and that they can continue to make progress on their goals. Several principals emphasized the importance of continuing the home visitation and family facilitation programs. Another highly valued aspect of the program is the monthly principal meetings. Principals have missed networking with each other and look forward to getting together in person.

A few principals expressed some uncertainty about where the Superintendents’ Plan is headed. One principal explained that in the past they felt there was a “very clear vision for the Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan and for our School as Hub program.” But now, “it’s a little bit fuzzier and disjointed.” They had heard about the

landscape assessment that was conducted this year but felt there has not been strong communication about its purpose or findings. They remain hopeful “that we’ll get back to that really clear direction of ‘this is what we’re going after, and this is why we’re doing these things.’” Another principal shared that they were “excited about the [2022–2023] plan and hopefully … it will find ways to develop me as a principal and make me better in my role.”

The following reflection demonstrates how much a principal has valued the Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan:

“...I think that the impact is massive on our building...Allowing the family to learn and grow and get the resources they need to do what they need to do and feel important for their family is immeasurable. I can name countless families that rely heavily on the support that they receive through their home visitor or family facilitator...”

SUMMARY OF LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS EFFORTS

During the 2021–2022 transition year, Institute staff responded by substituting for principals and providing school support so principals could attend to the various needs of their school buildings and staff due to the increased demands and stress presented by the pandemic. Institute staff continued to provide one-on-one coaching and facilitated community of practice meetings so principals could support each other and share ideas focused on supporting children’s recovery of learning and development of socialemotional skills. Institute staff also guided school leaders to utilize data to make decisions about children’s learning and ensure equity for children and families most impacted.